Album of the month: Beautifully Human. Words and Sounds, Vol. 2

I haven't blogged in a long time. I've been busy with school and my personal life (lol). Stuff I don't really feel like talking about. I'm here to talk about this wonderful album I, for long, wasn't sure I wanted to listen to.

I'm a huge fan of Jill Scott's debut album - I've talked about it so much on here. I was a bit scared that I wasn't going to like the rest of her stuff. So, in my constant search for new music, I decided to finally give it a listen and oh my gawd.

It's a very different album, lyrically, than her debut but amazing nonetheless. Her writing is still spot on and she sings a lot more. I simply adore this woman. She's so real.

I am not going to make a song by song review of the album because I don't think I have much to say about each song. It really is one of those albums meant to be heard from beginning to end.

The definite stand-outs are Golden, a song about embracing your own freedom and, well, living your life like it's golden. It sounds like a very cheesy song on paper, but that's something I love about her writing. Even if the message is a bit trivial, she still manages to do it with such honesty.

Cross My Mind is a one of the few spoken songs. It's a heavy song - at least for me, it is. I can relate so fucking much to everything she says, not to mention the music is delicious.

She truly showcases her vocals on Bedda at Home, a song about how a man is 'the kind that makes her pull dollars out her pocket book; but she has something better at home.' It's probably the most exciting (vocally) song on the album. She even shouts out 'let's calm down, let's calm down,' lol.

Family Reunion is such a wonderful song about, well, family. It talks about so many things. It's definitely worth many listens.

Not Like Crazy and Nothing [Interlude] are two beautiful pieces. They have that vibe so present on her debut album; reminiscent of I Think It's Better.

I'm not saying that the rest of the album is not worthy of your time. I'm simply talking about my personal favourites.

I am definitely getting Vol. 3 after I'm truly done listening to this - I've been playing it constantly for a month now, lol. I am aware of the fact that Jill Scott's music isn't for everybody but if you're at least a bit curious, then I highly recommend listening to this wonderful album. Link in the comments.

Tracklist:
1. Warm Up2. I'm Not Afraid3. Golden4. The Fact Is (I Need You)5. Spring Summery Feeling6. Cross My Mind7. Bedda at Home8. Talk To Me9. Family Reunion10. Can't Explaind (42nd Street Happenstance)11. Whatever12. Not Like Crazy13. Nothing [Interlude]14. Rasool15. My Petition16. I Keep/Still Here
That's all.
-Alej.

Back to school

That's all.

-Alej.

School update

I went to school on Wednesday and it turned out we did have to enroll then. It was a nice day. I spent most of the morning with my friends being retarded and stuff. It was great because we hadn't hung out in a while. Not since September, I think.

I got my schedule which is actually not as awful as I expected it to be. I will take Physics IV at 7:00 AM which is fantastic. Last semester Physics was the last class of my day and by then I was already tired, annoyed and in a bad mood. I already know my Mathematics V teacher because he used to be my tutor; he's a very cool dude. I will take Digital Electronics with the same teacher as last semester and I also know (a bit) my Electrical Circuits I teacher.

One of my friends will only be in two of my classes because he failed pretty much every class last semester, but my other friend will be with me in every class. I do not appreciate that there will be over twenty people in the classroom every day, but I'll just have to deal with it.

Another thing I do not appreciate at all is that we're going to be in one of the laboratory classrooms. I hate that place. You cannot see people other than the assholes that like to say bullshit to me. Not cool, but oh well.

I expect this to be a very successful semester. If I don't get to actually obtain an average of 100.0, then I want to at least keep it as high as last semester. I'll work hard.

That's all.

-Alej.

My school is confusing

Hello. A couple of weeks ago they published a calendar on my school's websites which had the different dates and departments that were going to be enrolling students for the upcoming semester. I was supposed to go on the 20th from 12:30 - 14:30, so I was ready and I had plans to get some other stuff done. A couple of days ago they published yet another calendar which has, not only different dates but is also very, very messy. I wouldn't mind if they had deleted the incorrect calendar but they left both up. What is that even supposed to mean?

I am going to have to pay the fee at the bank tomorrow and then go to school and ask what exactly is going on. It's so annoying - not the fact that I'll have to go to school twice (I'm sure I will have to), but the fact that they have to be so confusing. Is it really hard to put up just one calendar and specify that it's the real one? No, not really.

On the bright side, I'll get to hang out with my friends for a while and get some school supplies.

I guess the whole situation irritates me a lot because I really want to go back to school. It's going to be an interesting/tiring, therefore exciting semester.

Also, I have finally decided to get an 8GB iPod touch. I did some reading and some of the features it has are definitely appealing to me. I selected my absolute favourite music on my iTunes library and it didn't even add up to 7GB. Amazing. However, I'm firstly getting the memory for my laptop. I'll probably end up getting the iPod until May or so.

That's all.

-Alej.

A cute little playlist

I hadn't made a playlist since October! I guess everyone knows I was very busy with school and stuff and my internet is a bitch, so I have to think twice before uploading something.

I go back to school next week, so I decided to make a playlist before life gets crazy again. I don't have "theme" really, I just made it choosing songs I'm really obsessed with at the moment. I have been listening to a lot of music - I'm trying this new thing where I don't freak out about my HD space. I'm still trying to keep my iTunes library below 16GB so I don't have to leave stuff out when I get my iPod. I thought of getting an 8GB iPod touch for a bit but then I remembered there's not internet access everywhere. It would end up being very limiting and useless so, I'll stick with the 16GB iPod nano.

Anyway, I'll try to explain each song as best as I can.

1. Hurtful by Erik Hassle. This is the song that made me want to listen to his album in the first place. I adore his voice and his lyrics. Great pop song.
2. Could Have Been You by Joss Stone. From her latest, Colour Me Free! I didn't really like the album the first time I listened to it. However, before deleting it I decided to actually listen to it and I like it a lot now. I would say this is the best track on the album (along with Big 'Ol Game). Lovely.
3. Cross My Mind by Jill Scott. Ah, Jill Scott. This woman truly amazes me. There is something about the way she writes, the way she sings, the way she reads that is truly captivating. Her music never fails to make me feel good - or if I'm feeling good, better. Also, the subject of this song is something I can relate to. You sure did smell good.
4. Thanks a Lot by Teddy Thompson. Definitely my favourite song on his debut album. We all know about how I'm in love with Teddy's music and voice. There's not much to say about this song, other than the fact that it's truly wonderful. I think Teddy has become one of those artists whose whole body of work is great to me.
5. 24 Hours by NOISEttes. I'm in love with this band. When I listened to Don't Upset the Rhythm I immediately went to listen to the whole album and I'm glad I did. This is probably my third favourite song on the album.
6. One Is the Magic # by Jill Scott. Another song by Jill Scott. This one is very special to me, mainly because of the lyrics. This is from her debut Who Is Jill Scott? Words and Sounds Vol. 1. Great, great album.
7. If I Never See Your Face Again by Maroon 5. I have always loved this album (It Won't Be Soon Before Long), especially this song. After converting my music to 320kbps mp3s I listened to this song and I just lost my shit because of how good it sounds. And, yes, Adam Levine is hot.
8. Dance in the Dark by Lady Gaga. Another song I fell in love with after listening to it in better quality. The synths are crazy. I'm kind of obsessed with the 'howling at the moon' line.
9. Dancer by Queen. Autumn was/is obsessed with Queen's music so one day I asked her which was her favourite album by them and she said probably Hot Space, so I listened to it. Amazing. I truly, truly loved it. I loved this song from the first listen. Freddie Mercury's voice was intense.
10. Wonder Woman by Frankmusik. Over the holidays, Frankmusik released an acoustic version of his album. This version of the record, called Completely Me, is basically him and piano. I must say I enjoyed it a bit more than the actual album. It kind of forced me to pay more attention to the lyrics. Wonder Woman is my favourite song on Complete Me, so I've been obsessing on the acoustic version as well.

So, it's a shorter playlist than the ones I used to make but I think it reflects what I've been obsessing on for the past couple of weeks.

That's all.

-Alej.

Quick video

I ota forgot to say thess on my previous video, so:

That's all.

-Alej.

Gaga mode

Silicone. Saline. Poison. Inject me, baby, I'm a free... bitchhhh.

That's all.

-Alej on Gaga Mode.